By Brenna Goth | The Republic
The city will look to take other steps in response to President Trump’s executive order.
The Phoenix City Council on Wednesday denied a citizen request to designate Phoenix a “sanctuary city,” but it will look at possible legal challenges the city could make to a state law that requires local police to comply with federal immigration enforcement.
The issue stemmed from President Donald Trump’s executive order penalizing jurisdictions that limit cooperation with agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Denial of the petition submitted by Phoenix resident Rick Robinson, a Republican, did not come as a surprise. The requested change to Phoenix police policy would have violated Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 and put the city at risk of losing millions of dollars. Mayor Greg Stanton and several council members spoke against approving the petition soon after receiving it.
But immigrants-rights groups rallied behind the proposal in recent weeks. The council’s 7-2 vote brought chants of “shame on you” from supporters of the sanctuary-city designation.
